My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 11

Yoohee answered his question with one of her own instead, and Seo Hyunho’s face twisted in bewilderment.

 

“What do you mean… what kind of relationship?”

 

“Exactly that. Wouldn’t you say we’re fairly close by now?”

 

This was already their fourth meeting. It hadn’t happened the way she’d wanted, but they’d become entangled anyway, and there was no undoing it now.

 

If things had already come to this, then she might as well twist the original story even further.

 

“Hey… what are you—”

 

Seo Hyunho’s ears gradually turned red.

 

He’s surprisingly shy, isn’t he?

 

“If we’re close, then you wouldn’t just ignore someone you’re close to when they’re in trouble, right, sunbae?”

 

At the very least, friends don’t pretend not to see a friend’s hardships. Isn’t that what friends are for?

 

“I have a favor to ask you.”

 

“…What is it?”

 

“Are you free tomorrow, by any chance?”

 

If someone asked how anyone could possibly figure out a way to survive inside this absurd scenario—

 

She would answer that she still had one savior left.

 

A scenario cheat code.

 

Because the S-rank Esper male lead had practically fallen into her lap.

 

***

 

On a peaceful weekend morning filled with the chirping of skylarks,

 

Yoohee stepped out of the dormitory after making every possible preparation.

 

Track pants that allowed easy movement. Sneakers fitted with anti-slip pads so she wouldn’t lose her footing. A tightly tied ponytail to keep her vision completely clear.

 

And one more thing.

 

An invisibility cloak.

 

I can’t believe there’s actually an invisibility cloak.

 

Although she’d been late to the meeting yesterday, fortunately it hadn’t affected her completion of the sub-scenario.

 

[Congratulations! You have completed the second sub-scenario, “Why Bad Boys Are So Attractive”!]

 

[As a reward, you have received a one-time-use Invisibility Cloak.]

 

That was how she’d obtained the invisibility cloak.

 

It was disposable, but for a day like today, it would be incredibly useful.

 

Carefully tucking the cloak into her arms, Yoohee continued walking. As she drew closer to Building F, she finally spotted the towering figure waiting for her.

 

He actually came.

 

Even with everything she needed prepared, the odds of Yoohee slipping past the prison guards’ intense security by herself were extremely low.

 

Which was why she’d prepared her guaranteed winning strategy.

 

“Senior, you’re handsome as ever today.”

 

Yoohee flashed a bright smile at Seo Hyunho, who was standing in front of the shadowed Building F.

 

Dressed in a black tracksuit, Seo Hyunho looked down at her with his usual intimidating expression.

 

“…You’re noisy.”

 

“You’re getting embarrassed already? Come over here first. There’s something we need before we go inside.”

 

She led Seo Hyunho toward a patch of bushes nearby.

 

Then she pulled the invisibility cloak from her arms.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Since it looked like nothing more than a thin, sky-blue cape, Seo Hyunho asked bluntly.

 

Yoohee grinned.

 

“It’s an invisibility cloak. Things will be much easier if we wear this before going in.”

 

An invisibility cloak.

 

Seo Hyunho stared at the rare item in obvious surprise, as though wondering where she’d gotten something like it.

 

Not that he needed to know.

 

“There’s only one, so we’ll have to share it.”

 

“Forget it. You use it.”

 

Seo Hyunho stubbornly refused over something so pointless.

 

But Yoohee grabbed hold of his sleeve and spoke firmly.

 

“You have to wear it too! You need to conserve your mana.”

 

Even if he was an S-rank Esper, his mana wasn’t limitless. Every Esper became unstable after consuming too much mana.

 

And when that happened, what they needed was a Guide’s guidance.

 

“I… can’t guide you, after all.”

 

When Yoohee added that, Seo Hyunho’s face twisted into an unpleasant expression.

 

He couldn’t deny it.

 

Not only Yoohee—even if any other Guide came, none of them could guide Seo Hyunho.

 

There was only one person.

 

Only Gayoung could guide him.

 

The Imprint.

 

Before Seo Hyunho changed, he’d sworn eternal love to Gayoung and completed the Imprint with her.

 

A blood oath that promised lifelong guidance to one person alone.

 

Because of it, Seo Hyunho could receive guidance from no one but Gayoung.

 

It was also part of his deranged scheme to bind Gayoung to himself forever and make her suffer.

 

As long as the Imprint remained, she’d never be able to escape him.

 

“…Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

 

Left with no choice, Seo Hyunho finally relented.

 

But he probably didn’t know it yet.

 

Right now, he was still arrogantly convinced that the Imprint meant Gayoung could never leave him.

 

Completely unaware that, one day, with Seokhoon’s help, Gayoung would discover a way to break it.

 

She hadn’t realized it while reading the original novel, but seeing him now, someone who had devoted his entire life to revenge alone…

 

He looked just a little pitiful.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

Seo Hyunho shot her a crooked glance.

 

Honestly, he wasn’t cute in the slightest.

 

He should really tone down that temper.

 

Otherwise, how much was he going to regret what he’d eventually do to Gayoung?

 

“It’s nothing. Let’s go, sunbae.”

 

Yoohee unfolded the large cloak, easily wide enough to cover both of them.

 

***

 

“So what?”

 

Seo Hyunho hadn’t agreed to Yoohee’s request so readily from the start.

 

When she pleaded that her childhood friend was trapped on the top floor of Building F, Seo Hyunho answered with cold indifference.

 

What a heartless jerk.

 

But Yoohee knew exactly what could shake him.

 

“The truth is… I think I’m finally ready to forgive that friend.”

 

Just as she’d expected, those few words were enough to make Seo Hyunho hesitate.

 

He, of all people, understood better than anyone how agonizing it was to live your entire life unable to forgive someone.

 

If Gayoung’s parents had sincerely apologized to Seo Hyunho and his family, he probably would never have become so twisted.

 

But they refused to take responsibility for what they had done.

 

Instead, they blamed Seo Hyunho’s late mother.

 

“What a terrifying woman. She couldn’t stand seeing us happy, so she cursed us until the very end.”

 

That was why Seo Hyunho had no choice but to keep driving himself forward.

 

No matter how exhausted he grew from pursuing revenge, he could never forgive them.

 

As though recalling those painful memories, Seo Hyunho fell silent for a moment.

 

Then, in a somewhat cold voice, he asked,

 

“Do I really seem like that kind of good person to you?”

 

“…I think you’re not a bad person.”

 

When she answered honestly, Seo Hyunho looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

 

“What do you even know?”

 

“Whether I’m right or wrong, it’s just what I think. Even if you disagree, that doesn’t change it.”

 

Her unwavering reply left Seo Hyunho staring blankly, as if he’d been genuinely stunned.

 

He stayed silent for a while.

 

When Yoohee glanced up at him, he hurriedly turned his head away.

 

“…You really are something.”

 

After that, it didn’t take long for Seo Hyunho to agree to help Yoohee.

 

“So it really does make you invisible.”

 

The entrance to Building F was guarded by prison wardens under heavy security, but thanks to the invisibility cloak, Yoohee and Hyunho were able to walk calmly inside.

 

Once they had reached a section of hallway beyond the wardens’ sight, Seo Hyunho muttered in amazement.

 

Since Yoohee could see the Building F minimap, the two of them made their way straight to the central staircase leading to the second floor without getting lost.

 

As soon as they reached the second floor, they found not another prison guard—

 

but an animal that looked like a white fox wandering the corridor.

 

A guard dog… no, a guard fox?

 

Its fluffy fur, round black eyes, and gently swishing tail made it seem anything but threatening.

 

But that impression came entirely from its adorable appearance.

 

The instant Yoohee stepped into the hallway, the fox’s tail shot straight up.

 

In the blink of an eye, it lunged directly toward where she was standing.

 

—!

 

Fortunately, Seo Hyunho reacted a split second faster.

 

He snatched Yoohee out of the way and immediately retreated back down the stairs.

 

After setting her safely on the floor, he frowned.

 

“Tch. This complicates things. I didn’t expect them to station a Divine Beast here.”

 

A Divine Beast.

 

A living creature born from the life force overflowing from an Esper’s mana.

 

Even among A-rank Espers and above, only a select few possessed the ability to control Divine Beasts.

 

“The invisibility cloak won’t work on that thing. A Divine Beast’s senses are far sharper than a human’s.”

 

As Seo Hyunho clicked his tongue in frustration, Yoohee’s face turned pale.

 

If Seo Hyunho hadn’t been with her, the moment the Divine Beast detected her, the scenario would have ended in immediate failure.

 

“It doesn’t seem interested in chasing us down here. Looks like it was ordered to guard only the second-floor corridor.”

 

Seo Hyunho calmly assessed the situation.

 

Yoohee, however, was still deathly pale.

 

“W-What do we do…? We have to get through the second-floor corridor if we’re going to reach the top floor.”

 

Yoohee tapped the icon visible only to her, opening the minimap of Building F.

 

The four-story building had an unusual layout.

 

Each floor’s staircase to the next level was located all the way at the end of its corridor.

 

“The moment we step into that hallway, the Divine Beast will notice us. Even if we managed to eliminate it, its connected warden would immediately be alerted.”

 

Yoohee’s heart pounded anxiously.

 

I have to think of another way…